The NeelDown: Vengeance 2005
– From Las Vegas, Nevada
– Hosts are Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, & Coach
Carlito v. Shelton Benjamin – Intercontinental Championship
Funny thing: The announcer, who sounds like a fill-in, announced Carlito as the challenger though he is the IC champ. Way to get the show started right. Benjamin takes him down with a fireman’s carry to start for two, forcing Carlito to beg off. Benjamin works a headlock now, Carlito begs off, then goes on a sneak attack, but Benjamin takes him down in the corner and hip tosses him out for two. Carlito gets frustrated and tries to get the belt and walk, but he of course gets knocked down. Benjamin gets a snap suplex back in for two, and Carlito thumbs the eye. Benjamin tries a corner jump but misses although catching himself on the top rope, then gets the flying clothesline for two. Carlito uses the EVIL ILLEGAL CHOKE in the ropes, then kicks him to the floor. That gets two. Carlito scoops and slams him for two. Rear choke of doom by Carlito, but he thankfully breaks it quickly for some stomps for two. We’re back the rest hold now, though. Benjamin suplexes out of ti for a Double-KO. A good portion of the crowd is pretty behind Carlito now. Poor Benjamin never gets ANY love. Benjamin gets a Samoan Drop for two. Benjamin is feeling it now, and gets a pair of lariats, a backdrop, and inverted backbreaker for two. Benjamin knocks him off the top and gets a springboard bulldog for two. Benjamin tries a German out of the corner, but Carlito exposes the turnbuckle then gets a weird inverted sideslam for two. Benjamin misses the superkick and gets sent into the exposed buckle and rolled up with the tights for the fluke retain. Good enough opener, if not pretty slow. **3/4
Winner: Carlito
– Triple H arrives in the WHITE AND RED tuxedo. That Trips, always on top of the fashion world.
Victoria v. Christy Hemme
So here we have a match between two divas who have been forgotten in some kind of stupid catfight storyline with Christy acting like she can actually wrestle. And it’s not even FOR the Unimportant title. Vicky takes her down to start and grabs a headlock. Moonsault misses, giving Christy a few hairmares and a DDT for two. Christy tries a sunset flip, but Victoria drops on her and grabs the ropes for the pin. This was what it was, which was -*
Winner: Victoria
Edge v. Kane
Edge tries bailing to start, but Kane tosses him back in and pounds away. For the record, Lita still looked good here, unlike how she currently looks on Raw with Edge every week. “We Want Matt” chant starts up. Good luck, people. Kane clotheslines him to the floor and goes after Lita giving Edge a chance to attack, but Kane is ready. “She’s a crack whore” chant gets Lita’s attention. Remember, she was with MATT, not Jeff. Edge rakes the eyes but again Kane no-sells and pummels him to the floor. Lita goes low (pun intended) on Kane allowing Edge to shove him into the post and follow with a Spear, trying to buy a countout. But of course that fails, as Kane makes it back in, but a baseball slide sends him back out. Edge works on a leg back inside for a while but it only pisses Kane off. No sell alert! Kane amounts the big comeback but Edge gives him the Edge-O-Matic and basement dropkick. Of course, that all means nothing because the zombie sit-up follows. Kane gets the big boot, then rolls the snake eyes and gets a lariat for two. Sideslam sets up the flying clothesline, but Edge knocks him off and tries the Spear, but is met with a right hand. Gene Snitsky tries to interfere, but gets shooed off. Lita sneaks in and tries fondling Kane, buying Snitsky time to get a big boot, Edge covers for two. Ooh, the shock! Edge tries a briefcase shot but hits Snitsky, giving Kane the Chokeslam. Moving on… *1/2
Winner: Kane
Kurt Angle v. Shawn Michaels
I don’t think this one has any chance of beating out the original Mania match, but let’s give it a go. Angle takes him down to start forcing him to bail. Back in, Kurt goes for an early Ankle Lock attempt but the ropes break it up quickly. Michaels grabs an armdrag takeover, but Kurt fights out and turns it into an armbar. Now Angle is the one who has to bail to buy some time. Another Ankle Lock attempt is blocked, so it is turned into a Sharpshooter, but again those pesky ropes! Michaels tries a sunset flip but Angle counters to the Ankle Lock, but gets clotheslined to the floor. Angle tries an Olympic Slam out there, but HBK slips off and shoves him on the post. Angle, however, then Germans him onto the announce table, no break. Angle stays in control back inside and gets a neckbreaker for two. The wear out pins sequence follows, and of course gets two. Has a match ever really ended on that? If you know of one, e-mail me. Angle powerbombs him into the turnbuckle, causing JR to whip out the rare “Jesus Almighty!” That gets two. Angle switches to the REAR CHOKE OF DEATH, which is everything this match did not need. HBK gets out but misses a charge and falls victim to a German for two. HBK counters the Olympic Slam with an arm drag, but gets clotheslined down for two. Man, Angle is on the ball tonight. Michaels goes up top and tries an axe handle, but Angle catches him and snaps off a belly to belly for two. Back to the REAR CHOKE OF DEATH now goes Angle, then he turns it into a grounded headlock. HBK back suplexes out of it and gets the flying forearm for a Double-KO. Michaels kips up to break it, then gets the clotheslines, the atomic drop, the scoop slam, ect and goes up for the flying elbow, and gets it. Superkick attempt ends with a thud as Angle gets up and clotheslines him for two. Well, that’s one way of blocking the Music. Angle tries a slam, but Michaels counters into a swinging DDT for two. Michaels is too tired to snap off a suplex, so Angle counters and gets a German, but the rolling ones are dodged, however the Olympic Slam is not, but it only gets two. Cue maximum frustrated Kurt Angle! HBK tries to sneak in a cradle, but Angle kicks out and locks in the Ankle Lock, but Michaels rolls through and kicks him off, bumping the ref in the process. Oh please, did we NEED a ref bump in this match? Angle back drops him to the floor, then rolls him back in and LOSES THE SINGLET STRAPS. He then locks in the Ankle Lock. After two minutes of struggling though, Shawn simply kicks him off yet again. Okay … if you’re going to have a near-end submission, don’t wait that long and then just have the same counter you’ve had to the move the whole match. Michaels nails the Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere for two. Now that I think of it, that ref bump did absolutely nothing, too. Angle goes up then as we all expect a moonsault to be coming, but instead he goes for the ever-so deadly double axe handle … and in return gets met with a Sweet Chin Music on the way down, giving Michaels the win to even the score between them. Well, I would have loved to see an ending completely different from that shit. Obviously, the rematch wasn’t as good as the original ***1/2
Winner: Shawn Michaels
– Next up we have a couch in the ring, where Lillian sings a love song to Viscera, then proposes to him. Then The Godfather makes his triumphant return, so Viscera chooses the ho train instead of Lillian. Time of my life I’ll never get back.
John Cena v. Chris Jericho v. Christian – WWE Championship
Jericho and Christian take turns taking shots at Cena to start. Jericho turns on Christian to break the teamwork and drop some elbows, but Tomko pulls down the ropes dumping Jericho, then drops him over the barricade. That gets Tomko banned from ringside. Cena gets some usual stuff on Christian and tries an FU on Christian, but Christian hooks the top rope, so he gets dumped. Jericho gets a top rope elbow on the off guard Cena for two then a dropkick. Cena punches into a comeback, but Jericho gives him a bulldog and baseball slides him out. Jericho tries to suplex him through the announce table, but Cena blocks it and gets a DDT. Christian sneaks back into it and jumps Cena for two. Christian goes to the lethal rear choke now, which is just about everything a Cena match doesn’t need. Cena gets the 5 MOVES OF DOOM on Christian and tries the gay People’s Elbow rip-off, but Jericho pulls him out and sends him into the steps. Funny spot sees Christian go out then and shove Jericho, who accidentally hits Earl Hebner who falls back onto the announce table, which was all unplanned. Back in Jericho tries the Walls but Christian counters to a cradle for two. Christian goes up top, but Jericho goes up and hooks him for a superplex, then Cena goes up and powerbombs Jericho, and everyone falls off for a Triple-KO. Cena gets a double gay People’s Elbow ripoff and gets a sunset flip for two. Christian blocks the FU via eye poke and gets the Unprettier for three! New champ!! Just kidding, it only got two. Tomko comes out and levels Cena while Christian distracts the ref, and again that only gets two. Jericho locks in the Walls on Cena, Christian schoolboys Jericho for two. Unprettier misses, and Jericho shoves him into Cena who gets the FU for the pin. Again, could have done without that piss poor ending. Jericho and Christian tried to carry the wiggah the best they could here, but it was still nothing great. **3/4
Winner: John Cena
Batista v. Triple H – World Heavyweight Championship Hell In A Cell
Dave gets distracted by Flair at ringside to start, allowing HHH to jump him, but Batista comes back and gets a sideslam. They brawl to the outside and back in Batista gets a shoulderblock, then clotheslines him back out. Out there HHH sends his arm into the post. They brawl on the apron, and HHH sends him off and into the cell wall. Back out we spill where HHH sends him into the cage a few times for the annual HIAC sequence. HHH pulls out a chain from under the ring. Well, that has to be better than the TOOLBOX OF DOOM he pulled out in the HIAC with Nash at Bad Blood. HHH whips Dave with the chain as JR notes that the cell is “sadiomachistic.” Consequence? HHH chokes him with the chain but Dave is able to punch him off, however he then gets hung with the chain over the top rope. Batista gets out of it, though, and then returns the favor by whipping Trips with the chain. We head back outside where Batista rams him into the post, and then the cell. Back inside HHH nails the BIG TIME SPINEBUSTER, called by JR. Now HHH pulls out a barbed wire steel chair! Oh, that innovator. HHH wacks Dave in the back with it a few times, then tries a regular shot but Batista blocks it. HHH gets the facebuster, but Batista gets up and knocks him down with a lariat. Batista grabs the chair and wacks HHH in the head with it, then grades it into his face. Batista rakes the face into the cell now, as if barbed wire on a chair wasn’t enough. Back inside Batista misses a charge and eats pole. HHH tries a Pedigree on the chair, but Dave back drops out of it. JR notes that Batista used “raw animal-like power” to counter the Pedigree. Gee, I guess just about every wrestler alive has raw animal-like power. HHH plants him with a desperate DDT on the wired chair. HHH rakes him against the cell to open up the wound. HHH gets the SLEDGEHAMMER OF DOOM … but Dave low blows him. Um, okay. You have BATISTA low blow HHH? No idea what they were thinking when they booked that. Batista tries the Batista Bomb, but there’s that raw animal-like power again, as HHH back drops out of it. HHH levels him with the sledgehammer but only for two. HHH tries it again, but again Batista goes low, and we all know what I think of that. Dave grabs the hammer then, but HHH punches him with the chain wrapped around his fist for two. Smell the frustration! Coach wonders what Batista is made out of. Raw animal-like power, of course. And he uses that power to nail HHH in the mouth with the sledgehammer. We head back outside where HHH gets fed to the steps. He then brings the steps into the ring and sets them in the corner, then sends HHH into them. He tries a Batista Bomb, but HHH goes low, which is the first time he’s cheated in this match, then the Pedigree, but, cue shock and awe, Dave kicks out!!! Batista gives him a spinebuster into the steps, then the Batista Bomb finishes things. Some spotty stuff with all the various weapons made it not boring, and made for the best meeting of the two so far, so all in all in turned out better than I expected, which is all I can ask for here. ***
Winner: Batista
